When author and journalist Charlie Porter told someone in publishing he was thinking about writing a queer novel, he was told that there wasn’t a market for it. That was, admittedly, several years ago, but as the accolades for Nova Scotia House, the debut novel he released earlier this spring attest, times have changed - or perhaps its authors such as Charlie who have changed them. His beautiful and complex novel, narrated from the memories and mind of a middle-aged name named Johnny, offer an insight on what it was to live through the Aids crisis that evades the granular detail of the scant histories of that time but delivers all of the gut-punch. As Charlie explains on this episode of In Haste, when a huge proportion of a community of writers, thinkers, artists, musicians, makers, rebels and lovers die, sometimes the only way to retell their stories is by making them up. Fiction can become something history never existed to serve.

Also in this episode: how to keep sane on book tour, and why gardening really is the cure all to the weirdness of bringing out a book.

And a reminder: we’ve now set up an In Haste bookshop.org page - this is where you can buy all of the titles featured in the show. We’ll benefit from a tiny bit of kickback, which helps keeps the podcast in production. And if you love In Haste, we rely on substack subscriptions to exist. We’d love it if you were able to upgrade yours today.

catch up

What is the worst thing that could ever happen to a journalist? So begins the twisty, compelling and deliciously seductive Bring The House Down, Charlotte Runcie’s debut novel and, officially, the most fun book Alice Vincent has read in years. Which is why she insisted that Char sit down and put up with her enthusiastic grilling of her about her sensational novel.

This week marks the long-awaited publication of Bring The House Down, a modern revenge novel set at the Edinburgh Fringe, in which a morally dubious critic damns a one-woman show - only to have a one-night-stand with its creator hours afterwards.

In response, scorned woman Hayley transforms her performance into a one-star review of his life, dredging up every bad thing Alex has ever done. The result is a novel that cleverly interrogates criticism, cancel culture and online discourse, while offering up some brilliant gags in the process.

Today we celebrate Bring The House Down and Charlotte, and talk about her process behind the book - as well as the reality of writing it in six weeks after abandoning two other works in progress.

You’d be very well-advised to buy your copy of Bring The House Down here.

In Haste is hosted by Alice Vincent and Charlotte Runcie, and is produced by Holly Fisher for Hasty Productions. Original music by Maria Chiara Argiró. Graphic design by Alicia Fernandes.

Publishing, like every other aspect of life, is not immune from the trends cycle. In fact, it’s probably far more susceptible to what’s in vogue or not than it would like to admit. Remember when Gone Girl took the reading world by storm, and ushered in domestic noir in the process? Or that moment a few years ago with contemporary, female-focussed fiction was suddenly all being printed with covers of faceless women? If you think nobody else has influenced your reading taste, then we’re here to remind you that the Miranda Priestley cerulean sweater rule applies to books too.

And we thought it was about time we got into one of publishing’s most, well, horny trends of the moment: romantasy.

A blend of romance and fantasy genres, today’s guest, SFF specialist literary agent Maddy Belton, explains that romantasy novels are ones in which the high stakes of a fantasy novel (two, often magical or otherworldly political factions, which may or may not be human, are fighting for good and evil) are matched by the stakes of a love affair. Fourth Wing, the first in Rebecca Yarros’s sexy dragon saga the Empyrean series, offers a good case in point: our confused heroine is bound together, through the magic of dragons, with a man she is told wants her dead due to inherited political alliance. Furthermore: they both fancy each other.

In this episode we delve into how and why Romantasy has become such a force to be reckoned with, what it tells us about why we read what we do, and where to start if we’re curious.

And a reminder: we’ve now set up an In Haste bookshop.org page - this is where you can buy all of the titles featured in the show. We’ll benefit from a tiny bit of kickback, which helps keeps the podcast in production. And if you love In Haste, we rely on substack subscriptions to exist. We’d love it if you were able to upgrade yours today.

In Haste is hosted by Alice Vincent and Charlotte Runcie, and is produced by Holly Fisher for Hasty Productions. Original music by Maria Chiara Argiró. Graphic design by Alicia Fernandes.